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Difference between revisions of “Genitive ’s”

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The '''possessive 's''', also known as the '''Saxon genitive''' or '''genitive 's''', is used to show that the following [[noun]] is associated in some way to the preceding noun, i.e. ''Mary's house'' = ''the house of Mary'' and ''goat's cheese'' = ''cheese made from the milk of a goat''.
The '''genitive 's''' is an [[English]] [[suffix]] used to [[inflect]] [[noun]]s into the [[genitive]] case. For example "Mary" is inflected to "Mary's".


While intuitive to native English speakers, many students have difficulty in grasping its use and often try to put the definite [[article]] in front of proper nouns, etc., as follows: <strike>the Mary's house</strike>
This article covers pronunciation and spelling; the article on [[genitive]] covers usage.


== Use ==
== Pronunciation ==
*We use the possessive 's to talk about possession, relationship, physical features, etc. We use it to talk about a [[noun]] which “belongs” to a person, a country, organisation, etc.: ''John’s hair''; ''Anne’s flat''; ''the company's marketing strategy''; ''Spain’s unemployment figures''
*we also use it to talk about something which is used by a person or animal: ''There are two birds’ nests in that tree''; ''a child’s bicycle'';


*it can also be used for products from living animals: ''cow’s milk''; ''lamb’s wool'';
The ending sound of the base word determines the pronunciation of the morpheme “-s”.
*/s/ for non-sibilant voiceless consonants /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/, and /θ/.
:Cardiff’s, Mike’s, sheep's, Egypt’s, Elizabeth’s
*/z/ for vowels and non-sibilant voiced consonants /b/, /d/, /ð/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /r/, and /v/.
:Barbara’s, Bob’s, Maryland’s, Ann’s, Oscar’s
*/ɪz/ for sibilants: /s/, /z/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.
:virus’s, church’s, Marge’s, Bangladesh’s
 
*Not pronounced
:plurals ending in "s": dogs’, friends’
:classical and [[Biblical]] names: Augustus’, Jesus’, Moses’
 
== Spelling ==
Silent possessive is written as a single ’
*The dogs’ food (the food of the dogs)
*Jesus’ teachings


*it is often used to say how long things last: ''three hours’ journey''; ''twenty minutes’ delay'';
== Examples ==
== Examples ==


1. '''singular noun + ’s''': ''Peter’s friends gave him a great present'';
# '''singular noun + ’s''': ''Peter’s friends gave him a great present'';
#  '''plural noun + ’''': ''The athletes’ representative negotiated the deal'';
# '''irregular plural + ’s''': ''The women’s husbands were watching football on TV'';
# We can add '''’s''' or '''s’''' to a whole phrase: ''Henry the Eighth’s six wives''; ''Anne and John’s house in the country'';
 
While the difference between plural possessives can be shown in written English it can be ambiguous in the spoken language.  For example the pronunciation of (2) would be the same if it were:
 
*''The athlete's representative ...''
 
or
 
*''The athletes’ representative ...''


2. '''plural noun + s’''': ''The athletes’ representative negotiated the deal'';
In practice, however, [[context]] usually makes things clear.


3. '''irregular plural + ’s''': ''The women’s husbands were watching football on TV'';
==Lack of consensus==
There's no consensus on how to use it with surnames ending in "s", for example "Davis". By way of example, until its 15th edition (2003), the ''[[Chicago Manual of Style]]'' recommended ''Davis''', but in its 16th edition (2010), recommends ''Davis's''.<ref>[http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/PossessivesandAttributives/PossessivesandAttributives03.html "Possessives and Attributives"] ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]''. Retrieved 30th September 2012.</ref> On the other hand, [[Oxford Dictionaries]] recommends the former.<ref name=apos>[http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/apostrophe "Apostrophe"] [[Oxford Dictionaries]]. Retrieved 30th September 2012.</ref>


4. We can add '''’s''' or '''s’''' to a whole phrase: ''Henry the Eighth’s six wives''; ''Anne and John’s house in the country'';
Writers are recommended to spell as they pronounce.<ref>GrammarBook.com, [http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp Apostrophes].</ref> Davids’ is pronounced /ˈdeɪvɪdz/ and Davids’s is pronounced /ˈdeɪvɪdzɪz/.


==See also==
==Titles==
*[[Apostrophe]]
Especial care must be taken in the use of the possessive apostrophe in titles. In the same way that we don't say or write {{wrong|"Shakespeare's the last play"}}, we don't say or write {{wrong|"Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''"}}. The correct way is "Shakespeare's ''Tempest''". We can also modify it and say "Shakespeare's last play ''The Tempest''".<ref>[[Larry Trask|Trask, R. L.]] ''Mind the Gaffe'' (2001), ISBN 0-14-051476-7</ref>
*Homer's ''Iliad'' - not: {{wrong|Homer's ''The Iliad''}}


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>[[category:index]]
 
 
[http://david-crystal.blogspot.com/2008/04/on-possessive-apostrophes.html On Possessive Apostrophes] -- a [[David Crystal]] blog post on history of the possessive apostrophe




{{stub}}
[[category:suffixes]]

Revision as of 09:36, 29 April 2020

The genitive 's is an English suffix used to inflect nouns into the genitive case. For example "Mary" is inflected to "Mary's".

This article covers pronunciation and spelling; the article on genitive covers usage.

Pronunciation

The ending sound of the base word determines the pronunciation of the morpheme “-s”.

  • /s/ for non-sibilant voiceless consonants /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/, and /θ/.
Cardiff’s, Mike’s, sheep's, Egypt’s, Elizabeth’s
  • /z/ for vowels and non-sibilant voiced consonants /b/, /d/, /ð/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /r/, and /v/.
Barbara’s, Bob’s, Maryland’s, Ann’s, Oscar’s
  • /ɪz/ for sibilants: /s/, /z/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/.
virus’s, church’s, Marge’s, Bangladesh’s
  • Not pronounced
plurals ending in "s": dogs’, friends’
classical and Biblical names: Augustus’, Jesus’, Moses’

Spelling

Silent possessive is written as a single ’

  • The dogs’ food (the food of the dogs)
  • Jesus’ teachings

Examples

  1. singular noun + ’s: Peter’s friends gave him a great present;
  2. plural noun + ’: The athletes’ representative negotiated the deal;
  3. irregular plural + ’s: The women’s husbands were watching football on TV;
  4. We can add ’s or s’ to a whole phrase: Henry the Eighth’s six wives; Anne and John’s house in the country;

While the difference between plural possessives can be shown in written English it can be ambiguous in the spoken language. For example the pronunciation of (2) would be the same if it were:

  • The athlete's representative ...

or

  • The athletes’ representative ...

In practice, however, context usually makes things clear.

Lack of consensus

There's no consensus on how to use it with surnames ending in "s", for example "Davis". By way of example, until its 15th edition (2003), the Chicago Manual of Style recommended Davis', but in its 16th edition (2010), recommends Davis's.[1] On the other hand, Oxford Dictionaries recommends the former.[2]

Writers are recommended to spell as they pronounce.[3] Davids’ is pronounced /ˈdeɪvɪdz/ and Davids’s is pronounced /ˈdeɪvɪdzɪz/.

Titles

Especial care must be taken in the use of the possessive apostrophe in titles. In the same way that we don't say or write *"Shakespeare's the last play", we don't say or write *"Shakespeare's The Tempest". The correct way is "Shakespeare's Tempest". We can also modify it and say "Shakespeare's last play The Tempest".[4]

  • Homer's Iliad - not: *Homer's The Iliad

References

  1. ↑ "Possessives and Attributives" The Chicago Manual of Style. Retrieved 30th September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Apostrophe" Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 30th September 2012.
  3. ↑ GrammarBook.com, Apostrophes.
  4. ↑ Trask, R. L. Mind the Gaffe (2001), ISBN 0-14-051476-7


On Possessive Apostrophes -- a David Crystal blog post on history of the possessive apostrophe

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